Figures

Figure 7.5 Gaps and missing data can make gradual extinction events seem sudden (a) or sudden events seem gradual (b).
In both diagrams the vertical lines represent different species. (a) The real pattern of fossil species distribution is shown on
the left, and if there is a large or small hiatus, or gap, at the KT boundary (middle diagram), a gradual loss of species might
seem artifi cially sudden (right-hand diagram). (b) It is likely that the very last fossils of a species will not be found, and a
sudden extinction might look gradual; this can only be detected by intense additional collecting in the rocks that include the
supposed last fossils (shaded gray).